Are you worried that your spouse is going to start hiding assets now that you filed for divorce? Maybe they’re frustrated by the divorce and you think they’re going to hide assets out of spite. Maybe they just don’t want to share and you know they’re going to do everything they can to pursue their own financial agenda.
People aren’t supposed to hide assets during divorce, and it could even be illegal when they’re asked to make a disclosure to the court. But they do it anyway, so here are a few things to watch out for.
Creating fake debt
Some people will attempt to lower the value of certain assets by creating fake debt. For instance, perhaps your spouse is a small business owner. They could invent debt that the business holds as a way of reducing that business’s relative value.
Giving money away
You also want to be wary any time that your spouse decides to give money away, even if they have an excuse for it. For instance, maybe they claim that they forgot about a debt that they owed to their brother. But did they really forget about that debt, or is their brother going to give the money back after the divorce?
Neglecting to mention financial accounts
Finally, if your spouse is the one who has handled the bulk of the family’s finances, they may just assume that you don’t know about all of the financial accounts that exist. They may try to hide assets just by failing to mention investments they own or overseas bank accounts that they opened. They’re just hoping that you will never find these funds.
If you do think your spouse is going to hide assets, then it is critical that you know what legal steps you can take to prevent it.